Hprtl 



ST. MARK'S FLY (Bibio Hard) 



|T. MARK'S fly, so-called because it 

 generally appears about the time of the 

 saint's day, has come late this year ; but 

 I see it now resting on various flowers, or 

 else flying in its own very peculiar way, with its long 

 hairy legs hanging down like a bunch of black threads. 



The male fly has clear wings, those of the female 

 are dusky ; the former has eyes double the size of 

 those of the latter ; both the insects are jet black, 

 and very sluggish in their movements, so by these 

 characteristics they may be easily identified. 



The female lays about one hundred and fifty eggs 

 at a time in grass roots or decayed vegetable matter, 

 upon which the grubs feed. These remain in the 

 ground throughout the winter, and when full grown 

 the larvae become chrysalides, and in a few weeks' 

 time the perfect flies emerge. 



Another fly belonging to the same genus (Bibio 

 JoJiannis] is called St. John's fly, as it is to be seen 

 about the latter end of June, when St. John the 

 Baptist's day falls in the calendar. I am not familiar 

 with its appearance, but I imagine from its scientific 

 description it must be very similar to the St. Mark's fly. 



These two insects are, I believe, quite harmless, 



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